Boris orders Transport for London to fund garden bridge

Image: Garden Bridge Trust/Heatherwick StudiosTaxpayers are to pay tens of millions of pounds towards a new ‘garden bridge’ over the Thames after Mayor Boris Johnson ordered Transport for London to part-fund the scheme.

The bridge would connect Temple with the South Bank, with backers the Garden Bridge Trust saying it would create a new public space in central London as well as providing a new crossing over the Thames.

Last year the Mayor authorised TfL to make “a small investment” of £4m to help cover planning and feasibility studies.

TfL has worked with GBT to help develop the concept “a developed design that is capable of being submitted for full planning permission.”

Mr Johnson has now instructed the transport agency to contribute £30m towards the £159m project, matching a promise of a further £30m from central government.

The document says the Trust will be required to raise the remaining funding “from high net worth individuals, charitable trusts and commercial organisations”.

Government and City Hall money will be paid in stages, with up to £8m made available from each in the “pre-contract phase.”

The document warns that “if the project does not proceed beyond the stage, this funding will be at risk.”

It adds that GBT will need “demonstrate that is has secured, or is able to secure, the balance of funding required to construct the Garden Bridge,” before the remainder of the public cash is handed over.

The bridge will be open to all pedestrians, including those with restricted mobility, but according to the document, will be closed to cyclists.

Applications for planning consent were submitted to Lambeth and Westminster councils last month.

Comments

The last thing we need is another bridge on this stretch of the river, far better to spend money on making stations and river more accessible for use of boats & trains, especially for freight.

Switching the damaging (to roads) dangerous (to cyclists and pedestrians especially) and environmentally disasterous (emissions, noise, dust etc) traffic being generated by construction traffic in particular, should be a major focus now, as the savings both to London (roads damage, crashes, pollution) and the developers reduced costs for haulage 2 barge strings/3 trains vice 150 truck trips of 60+ miles across London to/from tip/quarry etc.

Clearly a great deal has changed since September 2013 when Sir Peter Hendy told the TfL Board:

“The bridge is proceeding on the basis that its construction and maintenance costs would be funded by third parties and our contribution is limited to enabling costs associated with securing the necessary
consents and approvals. Full third party funding is not yet in place, but there is
significant interest and discussions are continuing. TfL has no budget to build or
maintain the bridge.”